Allen blasts agent, says Pryor gives Raiders best chance to win

Raiders coach Dennis Allen and quarterback Terrelle Pryor may not always see eye to eye, but they agree on one thing: Pryor’s agent was way off-base when he suggested that Allen was starting Pryor Sunday in hopes that he would fail.
“That’s stupidest thing I’ve ever frickin’ heard,” Allen said.
Make that two things that Allen and Pryor agree on: Pryor gives them the best chance to win Sunday against the Broncos. Pryor played poorly for a four-game stretch, injuring his knee, and was benched for Matt McGloin after eight starts.
“Listen, we won three out of the four games we won have been with Terrelle in there at quarterback,” Allen said after practice on Tuesday. “I think we need something that’s going to spark the football team and I think this can be something that can spark our team.”
The 4-11 Raiders have lost five games in a row and Allen is on the hot seat as owner Mark Davis is looking for signs of progress.
While Allen is hoping Pryor can be a spark, Pryor’s agent Jerome Stanley let a fuse Monday evening.
After Allen announced Pryor was back in, Stanley said he doesn’t think Allen is trying to win or has Pryor’s best interest at heart.
“I think they’re putting him in hopes that he fails,” Jerome Stanley told CSNBayArea.com. “That’s what I think Coach is doing. I think they’re putting him in hopes that he has a bad game, so he can then justify the Matt McGloin situation. I think that’s what’s going on, I do, and it’s ridiculous.
“He doesn’t want him to look good because, if he looks good this week, it makes the past five weeks look like a bad decision.
Allen called Pryor Monday night when he heard the comments, and was ready to shoot them down Tuesday.
“That’s the stupidest thing I’ve ever frickin’ heard,” he said. “No coach in their right mind _ this isn’t the ‘Real Housewives of Beverly Hills’, this isn’t made for TV drama. This is football and we make our football decisions based solely on that, nothing other than that.
“I’ve talked to Terrelle about it. It’s in situations like that that you have to separate the player from the agent.”
Pryor apologized to Raiders fans on Twitter for the comments, and then distanced himself from them when talking to reporters on Tuesday.
“I’m very happy that Coach Allen gave me this opportunity (to start the finale),” Pryor said. “I know for a fact the man that Coach Allen is. That doesn’t even cross my mind, that possibility (of sabotage).
“I know he wants to win, he talks about winning, and he has a good game plan, so we’re going in to try to beat the Denver Broncos.”
It’s the second season in a row that Allen has changed course and surprisingly gone with Pryor in the season finale. It begged the question if Allen got any help in pulling thr trigger from general manager Reggie McKenzie or owner Mark Davis.
“Coaches decision all the way,” Allen said. “Obviously we talk. Reggie and I communicate about everything and that was the decision that I made. … I think Terrelle deserves the opportunity go in there and play again.”
Pryor beat out Matt Flynn for the starting job in the preseason, then lost it to McGloin when he injured his knee against the Eagles on Nov. 3 and played poorly against the Giants the following week. He blamed his performance on a sprained MCL while the coaches say he didn’t let on that his knee was bothering him before that game.
Pryor, who has 527 rushing yards, has a passer rating of 66.0. He completed 57.7 percent of his passes for 1,591 yards with five touchdowns and 11 interceptions in going 3-5 as a starter. (Matt Flynn started a Sept. 29 loss to Washington when Pryor was out with a concussion.)
Undrafted rookie McGloin, with no help from his defense, has lost five straight starts after throwing three touchdowns in a debut win at Houston. He has a passer rating of 76.1, completing 55.9 percent of his passes for 1,547 yards, eight touchdowns and eight interceptions.